Iowa @ Indiana preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 17, 2018 ) Indiana 84, Iowa 82

Iowa looks to build off one of its best wins of the season when it visits Indiana on Thursday. The No. 20 Hawkeyes knocked off No. 7 Michigan 74-59 on Monday to add a marquee victory to their NCAA Tournament resume, and hope to continue their climb up the Big Ten standings by beating the Hoosiers on the road for the first time since a 77-63 victory March 3, 2015.

"It was a good win for our team and our program moving forward but it makes the next game bigger," Iowa coach Fran McCaffery told reporters. "Indiana was 12-2 when they were healthy and they go on the road and beat Michigan State so that's who were playing." Indiana is coming off one of its best performances of the season after taking down No. 11 Spartans 79-75 in overtime to halt a seven-game skid. The Hoosiers overcame a first-half shoulder injury to their second-leading scorer Juwan Morgan to earn their first road win over a Top 10 team since 2013, and hope to play their way back into the NCAA Tournament picture by beating Iowa for the fourth consecutive time. "We've been on a tough grind and to have these guys be rewarded for hanging tough and staying with it was special," Indiana coach Archie Miller told reporters. "Guys should be proud of each other and the only thing that matters is the guys in the locker room."

TV: 9 p.m. ET, ESPN

ABOUT IOWA (17-5, 6-5 Big Ten): Luka Garza scored 15 of his team-leading 19 points in the second half after sitting out most of the first 20 minutes because of foul trouble against Michigan. Garza added eight rebounds while Joe Wieskamp was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the second time after producing 16 points, seven rebounds and a career-high five steals against the Wolverines. Junior forward Ryan Kriener scored 15 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to register the first double-double of his career as the Hawkeyes held Michigan to a season-low 32.3 percent shooting effort from the floor.

ABOUT INDIANA (13-9, 4-7): Romeo Langford led the way with 19 points to go along with five rebounds and four assists while Al Durham scored 14 points against Michigan State. Junior forward Justin Smith added 13 points and 10 rebounds to record the third double-double of his career while De'Ron Davis contributed a season-high 12 points, six rebounds and four assists after missing the majority of the last seven games with an ankle injury. Devonte Green tallied 11 points after serving a three-game suspension and Morgan, who is averaging 15.9 points and 8.0 rebounds this season, is not 100 percent but is expected to play Thursday.


TIP-INS

1. Indiana has won eight of the last 10 meetings with Iowa.

2. Hawkeyes G Isaiah Moss is 15-of-23 from 3-point range in his last five outings.

3. Langford leads all Big Ten freshman in points per game (17.4).

PREDICTION: Indiana 82, Iowa 79